Longstar's Battle
by HumbumbleHazel
Summary: Set in an alternate ending, Longstar is leader of TunnelClan; a Clan that separated itself from WindClan(now MoorClan). A suspicious sight arrives and the cats have to choose to battle over a hundred dogs or flee with no home in sight.
1. Chapter 1

The grass tickled Longstar's flanks, his orange tabby coat warming in the sun. His Clan was also lying around, not doing much because their prey pile was taller than a full grown cat and they had no need to hunt. Many brown and white-speckled rabbits along with a few thrushes, moles, and shrews piled among each other. They all had bellies as round as a kittypet's and everything was going swell with ThunderClan, MoorClan, ShadowClan, and RiverClan. There had been no border skirmishes lately and the only fight that the Clan had been with a rogue, although there were no major injuries. Opening his mouth to catch a scent on the cool breeze, the TunnelClan leader lifted his head to check on his warriors. Three kits, Gingerkit, Ryekit, and Springkit all played among the tunnel-hollow. The tunnel hollow was a small hollow on the edge of camp where apprentices and kits could practice tunnelling. Perking his ears as he smelt something peculiar, the leader narrowed his eyes. Lifting himself to his paws, he trotted over to his fastest cats. "Doveleap, Thistlenose," he said calmly, nodding his head to his den for them to follow. Longstar's long stride quickly carried him to his den.

"I need you to send out a patrol with two other fast runners. Not much has happened around but we need to make sure everything is okay in the other Clans, so split up the territories. I want you to go in twos," he dipped his head towards the exit of the underground den with a slight twitch of his whiskers.

"Longstar, is everything okay?" Doveleap questioned, his head tilting.

Eyelids drooping slightly, the old warrior nodded. The two toms climbed out of the den one by one as Longstar slid out as well, leaping up on to the tallbranch to watch them gather their warriors and leave. As the light warrior left with his patrol, he sighed and rested his graying muzzle on his flecked paws.

"Longstar! Hazeflank! Come come quickly!"

The leader was quickly awoken. Lifting his head, he squeezed out of the soil-made den and pricked his ears. "What is it?" he meowed urgently, paws pricking with unease. Tail curling over his paws as he settled down in the clearing, Longstar narrowed his eyes, fully awake as his deputy settled beside him, her dark tortoiseshell pelt standing out by his light orange.

"There were twoleg camps in the territories! Ours, MoorClan's, ThunderClan's, ShadowClan's, and RiverClan's! And they had dogs! Each camp had more than fifty dogs! Thistlenose heard a kittypet that said 'I can't wat until they drive out those warrior cats! We'll never be hunted.' So we think that twolegs are planning on destroying the five Clans!" Doveleap was out of breath as he finished, panting heavily. His words were so loud that even the kits stopped playing to listen in on the report. The Clan gathered around, listening intently for Longstar's reply.

Hesitating, the tom lifted his head. "Alright. Sparrowheart, Hazeflank, Hollystorm and Cloudsprint, please go to all four Clans and warn them. I need our strongest and best fighters to surround and guard the camp. Oh-make sure to ask the Clans to ally with us. If not, show them evidence," he ordered, waving his tail. He wondered how MoorClan would react. They had never been on good terms because, previously, WindClan separated their territory into two Clans since they couldn't keep good terms with each other, even though they were on seemingly neutral terms currently.

Sweeping his tail through the grass anxiously as they disappeared into the earth, Longstar sighed. He pricked his ears as his Clan muttered around, sharing gossip with elders who hadn't heard what was going on. Everything had escalated so quickly, and the leader didn't know what to do. Anticipation pricking at his paws, the tom padded under the gnarled oak root they used as an entry point, climbing up and out of the depression in the ground and sinking his claws into the fallen oak. Trotting up the trunk, he settled down between two vertical branches, which marked his usual look-out point. This was the point his mother's littermate used when WindClan had separated, and it was also the place where he met Sand, all those moons ago. Breath caught in his throat and his eyes watered with oiled tears. The she-cat was a beautiful dusty color, and her green eyes sparkled in the light of the sun.


	2. Chapter 2

As the grass shimmered in the light of the moon, the aggravated warrior raced from his camp. His orange pelt flashed in and out of the tall grass. He came upon a large, fallen oak, which was uncommon for the moor. Leaping upon it, he growled and clawed the dead bark, shards of it flying into the air and thudding on the grass. His large claws latched onto the trunk and he climbed up, stopping and settling down between two branches. His eyes flamed with anger. Turning around, he looked at the slightly deep depression in the ground, cocking his head. There was a rocky pile, a branch sticking out over it from the oak, and a few roots shot up through the earth, moss in between them. This would make a lovely camp if they fixed it up a bit. The tom raised a brow, swinging his head up.

A swiftly moving spot caught the maddened tom's eye, and he looked up. What was it? Naturally curious, he leapt down ready to attack a loner. Leaping down from his perch, he raced toward the spot, no longer visible in the tall grass. Paws flailing in an attempt to tear down the tall stalks in his path, he burst into the open moor. Tumbling over, he slammed down on a small, sandy-looking furry object. Green eyes opened in shock over a gaping muzzle and a twitching brown nose. Bristling, the tom hissed; "Who are you!?"

The she-cat, utterly confused and clearly not organized, blinked twice. "I-I'm.. I'm Sand," she said quietly.

"What makes you think you can trespass on WindClan territory?"

"I-I didn't know, honestly!"

The softness in her fearful gaze surprised the orange tabby. He let up, brushing the dust off of his fur. She got up as well. Something in the tom stirred, something he'd never felt before. His anger quickly dissipated in the silence as he took in the she-cat's shape, pelt, and beautiful eyes. His stomach twisted uneasily for some reason, and he quietly said; "I'm..Longpelt.."

Opening his eyes as he relished in the long-lost dream, Longstar shook his head and sighed. He shook out his fluffy outercoat and heaved a sigh. Ah, he remembered the two kits. The tiny brown she-cat and the large sandy tom. Then, the painful memory he'd been trying to keep away from him struck like a badger's blow. Longstar's tail stiffened, and his claws dug into the bark.

The nursery was empty. Where had they gone? Longpelt's paws prickled with worry for his mate and kits. He yowled; "Where are they?" and dove out of the bramble den, looking up at his kin. "Applestar.." the tom trailed off, "they're gone."

Find them. Find them. Find her. Longpelt's eyes glistened with worry as he clawed up out of the camp. As the deputy his responsibility was the Clan, but he refused to give up the thought of his beloved, Sandygaze. After being blinded in battle, she had retired, but not before she gave birth to two healthy kits. Clawing through the grass, he yowled her name over and over and over again. "Sandygaze!? Blossomkit, Grasskit?" They were nowhere to be seen.

Run. Run. Run. Find. Find. Find.

Out of breath, the MoorClan deputy skidded to a halt. Panting, he widened his panic-stricken eyes as a scent stung his nose. Twolegs...Kits..Sandygaze..Blood..Tears springing at his eyes, Longpelt raced after the trail.

Skidding to a halt, he noticed that there was a spot of blood on the ground, as well as a path. The Pathway of Blood, as he began to call it, running forward.

Reaching the end of the scent, the rest clouded by hundreds of others, he widened his round eyes and looked up. It was huge. The stench of twolegs was everywhere. The path of blood steadily lead to a large twoleg den. Fearful thoughts clouded by worry and love, the tom bounded inside a crack. Squinting through cloud and dust, his pawsteps padded on the soft sanded ground. Rounding a corner, he noticed a small roaring sound. It got louder as he padded down, and he soon noticed tens of cats lined up in a cage, all of them yowling.

Flattening his ears, the tom found a slight trace of Sandygaze. Tailtip twitching, he trotted forward. Slipping through a narrow opening in the wall, he spotted Sandygaze in another cage, next to a large brown tom that looked a lot like.. Blossomkit. Widening his eyes, he noticed the two were purring and curled up next to each other, two kits in the middle. Blossomkit and Grasskit. "THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME?" he howled, launching himself at the crate, "I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING, AND YOU BETRAY ME?"

Sandygaze's head lurched upward along with the tom's. Her clouded eyes glistened in recognition. "Longp- oh no, no no this isn't as it seems!" she curled her tail protectively around her kits.

"IT IS AS IT SEEMS, ISN'T IT?" he roared, clinging onto the cage door. Grasping a paw through the hard metal bars, he reached Grasskit's sleeping body and sank his claws into the tiny frame. Dragging the kit backwards as the two cats watched in horror, Longpelt brought the kit's body through the narrow space between the bars. A crack echoed around the metal room, and he threw the disfigured body onto the dirt ground. Blood pooled around where his claws punctured the tiny tom's body. Longpelt grinned with mad rage.

"Longpelt! NO! GRASS!" the queen shrieked, launching herself at the bars of the cage and dragging her son's lifeless body towards the bars

Pressing his face against the cage, eyes glowing with a raging flame. "THIS is what you get when you play with my love."

The tom almost fell off the branch. It was late afternoon now. He sighed, yellow eyes flashing. Nobody had ever found out about what he did. Assuming he'd go to the Dark Forest when he died, he tried to make sure that he did the best he possibly could with his Clan, and never made mistakes.


End file.
